Good article on B-52 from Gunnerblog:
Nicklas Bendtner: a perfectly good square peg in a highly unsuitable round hole
May 11th, 2011 02:43pm
http://gunnerblog.com/?p=2815Nicklas Bendtner has always been a divisive figure at Arsenal. For some fans, he represents a much-needed Plan B: powerfully built and good in the air, he provides an antidote to the tippy-tappy build-up we occasionally over-indulge in; a bulldozer in the box.
For others, he represents all that’s wrong with this Arsenal side: over-confident and seemingly lazy, his occasional outbursts in the press suggest a young man who would be better served by showing some humility and making the most of his limited ability.
The truth is probably somewhere in between. I think those who call Bendtner lazy are making a misjudgment. His bulk means that he’s never going to scamper about the pitch like a more sprightly player. However, he does get through a shift, especially when asked to play wide. Not many centre-forwards would chase back to support a full-back as often as Bendtner does.
When played through the middle, his ‘laziness’ is a misdiagnosis of something we rarely see at Arsenal: a desire to remain a focal point of the attack in and around the box.
We have, of course, already stumbled upon the principle problem with Bendtner: his deployment in the wide positions, to which he is plainly unsuited. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons that the big man could be on the move this summer. Speaking to Danish TV station TV2, he said:
“I need to have a talk with him [Wenger] because I’m not satisfied with playing on the right wing, which I’ve done more or less all season long.
I’m concentrating on getting our Champions League place and then we’ll do the evaluation at the end of the season.
It’s certainly not the best thing for me but it’s not up to me and sometimes you have to adapt to what the manager says.”
It’s unclear as to why Arsene chooses to play Bendtner wide. It doesn’t seem to be part of a developmental plan, as with Theo Walcott. Arsene is still insistent Theo will end up as a striker, and that playing on the wing is in part a ploy to teach him aspects of the game which will benefit him when he emerges from his right-flank cocoon as a serviceable centre-forward.
Bendtner, however, is a pure box player. He doesn’t have the pace to beat a man. He doesn’t have the skill to outfox a defender. What he does have is the power and presence to make a nuisance of himself and get on the end of crosses. That is his game. Relative to the rest of the squad, he lacks finesse. He is, whatever he may think, more Andy Carroll than Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
That’s not to say he lacks ability. I’m always surprised that Bendtner is considered a bit of a joke by so many fans both within and outside the club. Perhaps that’s due to a couple of high profile misses, but his goalscoring record generally speaks for itself. Even this season, when he has struggled for form and fitness, he is a goal away from double figures. And that’s having made just 14 starts.
So why does he find himself continually out of position? Simple: there are better players ahead of him. Many scoffed when Arsene identified Robin van Persie as the man to fill the lone striker role, but he has shown he has the ability to be devastatingly effective in that position. Crucially, he also has the immaculate first touch required to bring other players in to the game. Bendtner doesn’t, and our passing game can occasionally break down when he is employed as the focal point of the attack.
Essentially, he’s a square peg in a round hole. He’s a centre-forward in a team who doesn’t really cross the ball. And when they do cross it, it’s the 6’3” Bendtner doing the crossing. Deploying him on the flank might make sense if we were to launch raking cross-field passes on to his head. But that just isn’t our game.
For his own sake, it may well be time to move on. For Arsenal too, it makes sense. At 23, Bendtner is still a promising international striker who could command a decent fee. With Marouane Chamakh now in the squad, we have another striker who can be a threat in the air. We might be better off replacing Bendtner with a pacy forward who can run the channels - and, if really necessary, play wide.
Bendtner says if he could choose where to go it’d be Barcelona. I’d like to play for them too, mate, but it doesn’t make it any more likely to happen. If he wants to fulfill his potential - and, if you listen to him, he’s got plenty of it - he needs to go to a club where he’ll play regularly. I can see him doing well in the Bundesliga, or at a mid-level Premier League club like Newcastle, who certainly need a new number nine.
Bendtner has the kind of personality that will enjoy proving his critics wrong, and I don’t doubt he’s capable of it. Just perhaps not at Arsenal. And certainly not on the wing.
